The CEO Roundtable (CEOrt) of Tanzania is proceeding to arrange for the next public presidential debates, this time for opposition coalition UKAWA.
Expressing disappointment over the no show of CCM Presidential aspirants at what would have been the nation’s first public debate of presidential aspirants since multipartism was reinstated in 1992, CEOrt maintains that it is not discouraged.
“On behalf of the leadership and members of the CEOrt, we offer our heartfelt apologies to the many people who came to the debate venue, to the millions of viewers on TV, radio and internet, to our media partners and to our sponsors the Uongozi Institute,” the CEOrt Chairman Ali Mufuruki apologised in press statement released yesterday,
“We are saddened and disappointed by what happened but we are by no means discouraged. We will proceed to make arrangements for the next debate,” he reassured stakeholders.
Further, he said the next debate will be for the UKAWA group and will be held on 18th June and subsequently another debate for the final pre-nomination debate for CCM aspirants will be held on 25th June.
“CEO Roundtable of Tanzania will continue to work with the aspirants and their party leaders to make sure we avoid a repeat of Monday’s problem going forward,” he said.
“We recognise this is merely the first step in a thousand miles journey, but we are determined and will keep working at it until we build a national consesus around the idea that the quality of a Tanzanian leader in the highest office of the land is measured among other things, by his/her ability to competently manage the economy, to create new jobs and is committed to improving the business environment as well as dedicated to upholding good governance and the rule of law,” detailed the CEOrt Chairman .
He said as private sector stakeholders and as tax payers as well as job creators and citizens, CEOrt believes that; “we have the right and duty to engage our political leaders – both those currently in office and the ones seeking public office in the coming general elections with the view to ensuring that improving the business environment in our country remains a top priority at all times.”
“We believe also very strongly that this year’s elections should be about maintaining and if possible increasing the pace of economic growth, upholding the highest standards of good governance and the rule of law,” he emphasised.
He said it is unfortunate that their efforts suffered a setback on Monday following the last minute withdrawal by 2 of the 3 confirmed debate participants and went on to commend Ambassador Amina Salum Ali, the only one who turned up for the debate, for what he described as ‘her courage, wisdom and leadership.’
The confirmed participants who did not show up despite their written confirmations were January Makamba and Mwigulu Nchemba.
“Consequently, we could not proceed with the debate with only one participant on stage. We had no choice but to cancel the debate altogether,” the CEOrt lamented.
Early last month, the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania, a policy dialogue forum of Chief Executive Officers of companies operating their businesses in Tanzania, announced plans to stage a series of televised debates for aspirants who will be seeking nomination by their respective parties to run for the office of President of the United Republic of Tanzania during the October 2015 general elections.
It explained that, televised pre-election debates make it possible for political party caucuses to gain deeper insights into the individual aspirant’s capabilities, temperament, leadership style and policy priorities if elected.
“Such insights allow for more informed party choices and ultimately more competent leaders in public offices,” the forum officials said.
The Chairman, Ali Mufuruki summed up saying; ‘We understand that changing our political culture and nurturing our nascent democracy is a process, not an event and as such, success will require persistence, hard work and patience.”
Moving forward, each debate will have a maximum of 5 aspirants, the debate of 8th June will not be repeated but Ambassador Amina Salum Ali will be given another opportunity to debate her fellow aspirants during the CCM aspirants debate on 25th June 2015 subject to her availability.
